Between the last
Ordinary Session and the present, the Secretariat has managed to send Note
Verbales on my behalf for planned Promotional Missions to the following
Member States:

The Republic of
Kenya; and

The Kingdom of
Swaziland.

I am sad to
report that the said Member States are yet to respond to our requests.
Once again, I wish to urge State Parties to remain receptive and to
respond timely to our requests for visits to their countries for these
very important missions.

I am also made
to understand that there is no funding with our Secretariat to cover for
missions. This is part of the general problem the Commission itself
continues to face.

I have continued
to liaise with Penal Reform International ( Malawi Chapter) with a view to
discussing further areas of cooperation. A meeting scheduled for Lusaka in
early November was unfortunately aborted.

That
notwithstanding, since the last Ordinary Session, copies of funding
proposal prepared by the Secretariat have been availed to representative
of the French Foreign Affairs, Association for the Prevention of Torture
(APT), and Penal Reform International (PRI) who had shown interest to
continue working with the special rapporteur mechanism. In particular, the
proposals so prepared dealt with the proposed Prisons Hotline to be
established within the African Commission.